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Leonardo Bruni

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LAST REVIEWED: 07 February 2017

LAST MODIFIED: 24 May 2017

DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399301-0069

Introduction

Leonardo Bruni (b. 1370–d. 1444) is one of the most interesting and versatile of the early Italian humanists. Intellectual leader of the generation following Coluccio Salutati, Bruni made substantial contributions to all the humanistic disciplines except poetry. Yet, though the sheer number of surviving manuscripts of his works establishes him as the most popular author of the Quattrocento, he was no ivory tower academic. He served as secretary to four popes, then as chancellor of Florence from 1427 until his death. And though the details of how he did so are still in dispute, Bruni was remarkably successful in bringing the ideals and values of Antiquity to bear on the intellectual and political concerns of his day.